Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1887-1890, 1887-07-02
WATER ABUNDANT.
The Sinking of the Artesian Weii
Crowned With Success-Utah's
Well Experinece.

In April the Great Falls townsite COM
pany began to sink a well on the bench
lands on the north side of this city. Ihe
work has been carried on persistently des-
pite the resistance which the sand stone
strata gave to the boring machinery. The
well is now about two hundred feet deep
Water was found and has risen to within
twenty feet of the surface. The we'll Will
be deepened in order to secure stronger
flow of water.
This experiment has been undertaken
to determine if water could be found
plentifully on the bench lands for Irrlga-
ton and general purposes. The success
attained SO far is encouraging and cores
ponds with the indications that abundance
of water may be found in and around this
city which has also limitless supply III
the Missouri river and the Giant spring.
Recent experiments have also shown that
crops will flourish en- the bench lands
without irrigation, so that Great Falls
would have been all right whether water
was stored beneath the surface or other
wise.
The experience of Utah is interesting
in connection with this subject. There
the sinking of artesian wells has become
an important industry, giving employment
to many men, while the more Important
feature is that of supplying good water to
districts almost worthless heretofore, be-
cause of the lack of water. 1t was only
two or three years ago that such wells
were proven practicable through the ef-
forts Of few persons driving pipe down
till body of water was tapped. ouch
wells are now flowing in all the proml-
nent valleys, and in some localities they
are located pretty we'll up on the slopes
near the base of the foothills. In the
lower part of Salt Lake water is tapped at
from twenty five to two hundred feet In
depth, owing to locality, and at cost OF
about fifty cents per foot in purchase OF
piping and sinking. In many places it
costs less to get a flowing we'll OF gooo
water, than to get an open we'll only lew
feet deep, with inferior water seeplng IN
Already the number of flowing wells in
Utah has reached into thousands, and in
many districts the men who engage In
sinking hem are kept constantly busy.
With suitable pile driving machinery,
made light and portable, good force
pump to wash an opening below the pipe,
and cheap drills with pipe rods to operate
them well $50 feet deep or less may be
| put down in two or three days with the
| labor of the three men usually operating
such machinery, but of course they cannot
insure water in all cases. So far, the per-
centage Of failures is very lo.-so low
that success is looked upon as almost GER
tain wherevera well digger is willing to
make an attempt. In some flows gas is
struck, and in few instances this has
| been put to use in furnishing light for
| l., e., Ntzs, in
instance it has proven useful in the manu-.
facture of table salt by boiling water of
the lake. The benefits derived already
from artesian wells in Utah are beyond
computation, and their usefulness is capa-
BILE of indefinite extension. Most of the
wells have capacity of Is to 200 gallons
per minute through small pipe, the largest
so far used being about six inches in
diameter. As the supply of water appears
to be inexhaustible, larger pipes promise
| to come in use.